Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)

I move amendment No. 2:

In page 3, to delete lines 13 to 21 and substitute the following:

2.—The Principal Act is amended by substituting the following for section 39—

39.—In this Part—

'organisation to which this Part applies' means an international organisation, community or body standing designated for the time being by order under section 40 of this Act;

'Vienna Convention' means the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations done at Vienna on the 18th day of April 1961 the text of which in the English language is set out for convenience of reference in the First Schedule to this Act.".".

My amendment No. 1 proposed to add a new section 5A and insert that:

(1) The provisions of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties done at Vienna on the 23rd day of May, 1969, shall have the force of law in the State.

(2) The Minister may from time to time make such orders as appear to him necessary or expedient for carrying out the convention referred to in subsection (1) of this section and for giving effect thereto or to any of the provisions thereof, and may revoke or amend any order under this section.

We discussed this matter on Committee Stage. I wished to raise it again on Report Stage to ask the Minister of State for clarification on the Government's precise intention with regard to the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. Why have we not signed up to this important instrument or a more important one, the Declaration on the International Court of Justice? We are in the same position as the United States of America in ignoring the latter.

See this speech in context